Late-spring storm closes I-80, dumps heavy snow in Albany County
Centennial got buried under more than 24 inches of snow as I-80 shut down for miles, stranding motorists and cutting off a key Albany County corridor.
Interstate 80 turned into a dead end across southern Wyoming, and Albany County felt the impact first in Centennial, where residents reported more than 24 inches of snow and travel along the region’s main east-west corridor ground to a halt. More than 200 miles of I-80 were closed for most of the day, leaving motorists stranded for hours and forcing local traffic controls on the stretch between Laramie and Cheyenne.
By 2:30 p.m., the highway was fully closed between Rock Springs and Laramie, with only local traffic allowed in the Laramie-to-Cheyenne segment. WYDOT crews were already battling 4-foot drifts by noon, and wind gusts reached as high as 45 mph, creating whiteout conditions that made even routine winter maintenance dangerous. Jordan Young, the agency’s deputy public affairs officer, said WYDOT had heard anecdotally about stuck vehicles between Laramie and Rock Springs but did not have hard numbers. He also confirmed that a WYDOT snowplow was struck near the Wagonhound Rest Area between Arlington and Elk Mountain.
The storm’s reach extended beyond the highway. Don Day said he was seeing reports of around 30 inches of snow in the Snowy Range and more than two inches of water in the previous 48 hours, a significant moisture event for a region that has been unusually dry for the season. He specifically pointed to Laramie and Albany counties among the areas that benefited from the storm’s moisture, even as the same system caused major disruption on the ground.
Power outages added another layer of strain. Rocky Mountain Power reported 24 outages affecting 5,674 customers statewide by midafternoon, with the largest concentration in Rawlins, Sinclair and Wamsutter. In Carbon County, Sheriff Alex Bakken said the county was coordinating with the utility to clear routes to the affected substation. Memorial Hospital of Carbon County stayed open for people needing oxygen or power for a medical device, and Carbon County Search and Rescue was mobilized to provide emergency transport for anyone needing oxygen services.
For Albany County, the storm underscored how quickly late-spring weather can shut down one of the state’s most important transportation routes. An earlier Associated Press report on a similar Wyoming spring storm said a 150-mile stretch of I-80 closed for about nine hours and that Albany County received 8.9 inches of snow in that event. This storm hit even harder in Centennial, where a May snowpack of that size can still isolate residents, disrupt work and school travel, and stall freight moving across the state.
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